Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Want to Know How To Make Puran Poli? Ganesh Chaturthi

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi; Puran Poli

It is the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi and traditional most Maharashtrian households prepare Puran Poli. Puran Poli is a type of sweet Maharashtrian bread served with a dollop of ghee. It is filled with a mixture of jaggery and chana dal. Lord Ganesha is offered a Puran Poli, Varan Bhath (Pulses and Rice), pakodi (fritters along with ghee and jaggery (gud).

Puran Poli - Serves 4

To Make Dough

Whole Wheat Flour (Atta) ¾ cup

Refined Flour (Maida) 1 ¼ cup

Water 1 ½ cup

Vegetable Oil (Tel)1 tablespoon

Salt (namak) a pinch

To Make the Filling

Chana Dal 1 cup

Jaggery (Gud), grated ½ cup

Sugar(Cheeni) ½ cup

Serve With

Jaggery (Gud) 1 tablespoon

Unsalted, clarified Butter (Ghee) 1 teaspoon

Method:

To Make the Dough

Sieve the whole wheat flour and refined flour together on a clean, flat surface.

Add in salt. Make a well in the centre and slowly add in the water. Bring the flour together, mix well. Knead the dough. Make slightly sticky dough. Apply oil on the surface of the dough and allow it to rest for thirty minutes of more.

To make the filling

Soak the chana dal for an hour and then boil it in about 2 ½ cups of water. When the chana dal is cooked, drain out the excess water.

Add the chana dal in a pan and dry heat it on medium heat. All the excess moisture in the chana dal dries out. In this thick chana dal add in the jaggery and sugar and mix well. Allow the mixture to cool down.

Blend all three together in a blender. This mixture is used as a filling.

To Make the Puran Poli

Divide the dough into equal lemon size portions, rounded up. Take one portion and flatten it. Roll it out on a flat surface in a small circle with a rolling pin(belan).

The circle should be big enough to hold two tablespoons full of the filling mixture. Place two tablespoons of the filling in the centre of the circle.

Seal the sides of the circles together. Press the together and round it up again.

Flatten the round on a flat surface. Then use your fingers to press the mixture out in the entire circle so that the filling spreads out evenly in the bread.

Roll it out into a big circle.

Heat a flat pan. Put the puran poli on the pan and cook it on low flame until it turns a little brown in a few places on the surface. Cook for two minutes on both sides.

Add a dollop of ghee in the centre and fold the puran poli to quarter. Serve with ghee and a teaspoon full of jaggery.